Highlight on Faculty

The Writing Program’s faculty features practicing writers and editors who excel at teaching. Some instructors are full-time writers or editors who have time to teach only every year or two. Others maintain their professional credentials but teach more often to provide continuity in the curriculum and develop deeper relationships with students. This mix produces a faculty aware of current trends but focused on the art and craft of teaching.

The program is chaired by the prolific poet and novelist Brad Leithauser. The program director is Elise Levine. The assistant director is Mark Farrington, who also serves as Fiction Advisor. Melissa Hendricks serves as coordinator for the Science Writing Programs. All teach regularly. Among our senior faculty are Ed Perlman, Cathy Alter, Bill Black, Margaret Meyers, Elly Williams, Richard Peabody, Rae Bryant, and Leslie Pietrzyk. Other regular instructors include Writer in Residence Tim Wendel, an author of novels and nonfiction books. Guest lecturers and readers include Hopkins professors Mary Jo Salter, John Irwin, Alice McDermott, and Jean McGarry, well-known author and writing activist Marita Golden, and prominent writers such as Edward P. Jones, Wil Hylton, Nancy Lemann, Mary Kay Zuravleff, Paul Maliszewski, and Jessica Anya Blau. For more information, click on the faculty member’s name to view a profile.